


The Ultimate Test of Skill

by TheNerdPrincess



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: BIG BIG TRIGGER WARNINGS ON THIS, Darkfic, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, F/M, ITS GOING TO BE DARK, Please read, no major character death though, so thats a thing i guess?, tw abuse, tw emotional manipulation and abuse, tw gaslighting, tw manipulation, tw psychopath behavior
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:56:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNerdPrincess/pseuds/TheNerdPrincess
Summary: Trigger warnings in tags.The team is reeling after Morgan's departure, but thankfully, rising star Lili Carter steps up as the BAU's newest profiler. Spencer is unsure at first, but he soon falls fast and hard for the smart and talented new member (and, apparently, she for him). Little do any of them know the true motivation behind her actions, or that they are the endgame of a plan set into motion years ago.
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	The Ultimate Test of Skill

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the trigger warnings in the tags! This fic will only get darker as it goes and there is no happy ending here.

The psychopaths the BAU deals with are bold, highly intelligent, and charming. That’s what makes them deadly. However, they also get bored, and cocky, and predictable. That’s what gets them caught.

—

Lili Carter pressed her teeth into her bottom lip as she watched the numbers climb on the elevator screen. At the sixth floor it stopped with a  _ ding! _ and the doors slid open. Adjusting her grip on the bag strap slung across her body she took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"First step into a new life!" she whispered to no one as she stepped off the elevator.

Her kitten heels clicked on the floor as she strode across the hallway. Inside the glass doors ahead of her men and women flowed around an open layout of desks. An older man and a blonde woman perched comfortably on the desk of a tall, scruffy-haired man who only looked a few years older than Lili herself.

“She just got invited in?” JJ asked, peeking at the figure beyond the doors. The tall young woman had shining black hair that fell to her ribcage. None of her clothes fit quite right, like they were second-hand, and she shuffled nervously before pushing the door open.

“Apparently,” Rossi replied in a low tone. The trio watched her skirt the edge of the bullpen as she made her way to Hotch’s office.

“Director Cruz was impressed by her grades and all-around performance. I watched her run the training course once, and the girl can  _ move _ .”

“Hotch wouldn’t bring someone else in if he didn’t think they would mesh with the team,” JJ reasoned, more to herself than her companions.

Spencer stayed silent, spinning a pencil in his long fingers and pointedly not looking at the newest member of the BAU.

Rossi noticed and nudged JJ, pulling her attention away from the woman who was now inside Hotch’s office. She sighed.

“Spence, hey...no one’s ever going to replace Morgan. Hotch is just trying to make sure we’re not shorthanded.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Spencer snapped, but when his eyes found those of his best friend they weren’t angry. Just sad.

JJ opened her mouth to say something, but Spencer interrupted by standing suddenly. 

“I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be back for the briefing,” he said shortly, striding out of the bullpen without a single glance back. 

JJ and Rossi exchanged a look.

“I’m not going after him,” the old Italian said. At JJ’s frown he relented slightly. 

“Just give the kid some time,” he said. “It’s only been a few weeks since Morgan left. He’ll adjust.”

“I hope so,” JJ said with a deep sigh.

Hotch’s office door opened and Lili stepped out, followed by the unit chief.

“Rossi, JJ,” he called, eyebrows pulling together. “Where’s Reid?”

Rossi shrugged.

“He said he’ll be back for the briefing,” JJ said as the two of them joined Hotch and Lili on the raised walkway. Lili gave JJ a small smile. JJ returned the expression, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Well, regardless,” Hotch said. “I’d like you two to meet Agent Carter. Agent Carter, these are Agents Rossi and Jerau.”

Lili quickly stuck out a hand with a nervous smile.

“You can call me Lili,” she said, shaking each of their hands in turn.

“Firm handshake,” Rossi commented with an arch of his bushy eyebrow. Lili let out a breathy laugh.

“Yeah, one of the many lessons my dad taught me.”

“Good man,” Rossi said with a nod. "I remember you," he continued, observing her for a moment. "Yeah, you were in one of my seminars at Georgetown a while back."

“I was, it was so informative, I really enjoyed it," Lili said enthusiastically. "It’s an honor to meet both of you,” Lili continued, glancing between them as if unsure who to focus on. “I studied a lot of the BAU’s cases in school, you do great work here.”

“It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it,” JJ said. “You can call me Jennifer, or JJ.”

Lili nodded and behind her Hotch glanced at his watch.

“It’s time. I’m sorry, Agent Carter, but you’re going to have to hit the ground running on this one.”

Lili’s spine straightened and her grip on her bag tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Yes sir.”

The four of them filed into the conference room. Lili hesitated by the door as the others took their seats. Pausing in her scan of the file, JJ looked up and watched her for a moment before waving her over.

“There aren’t assigned seats,” she said as the newbie settled in next to her. “It’s mostly first-come, first-serve.”

Lili let out a breath and smoothed her skirt.

“Got it,” she replied. “I was afraid I’d take someone’s seat and  _ wow _ that would not be a good impression to make my first day.”

The two women laughed a little, cut short as a door by the large, wall-mounted display opened and Penelope bustled in.

Lili’s eyes widened as she took in the riot of bright color and sparkles before her, then her lips twitched up slightly.

“Ah, Garcia,” Hotch said, looking up from his file. “Agent Carter is joining us today.”

Penelope turned, her darkly stained lips forming an ‘O’ shape.

“Agent Carter!” she said. “Of course! It's you! Welcome, welcome.” 

She hurried over and quickly clasped both her hands around Lili’s. 

“I remember you! You made cookies for Rossi after his seminar and he brought them back and shared them! I’ve heard such great things, Hotch said you’re nice, and you’ll be able to start as a profiler right away, and that will take some pressure off everyone else, and-”

“Garcia.”

Hotch cut in and gave her a meaningful look. Penelope released Lili’s hand.

“I’m sorry! I got carried away. It’s very good to meet you, Agent Carter.”

“Lili, please,” Lili said, returning her hand to her lap and giving the technical analyst a big smile. “It’s very good to meet you too, I'm so glad you liked my cookies.”

Before Penelope could say anything else, Hotch stepped forward. 

“Let’s get started.”

Everyone’s eyes landed on the empty chair beside Lili for a moment. Right as Penelope was about to begin talking, Spencer came in. With a mumbled apology, he took the seat, sliding away from Lili slightly and keeping his eyes on the file in front of him. Hotch nodded, and Penelope clicked the remote and began the briefing. 

“Alright my beautiful behavioural analysts, get ready for a weird one. We are headed to Superior, which is a tiny, tiny,  _ tiny _ town in Wyoming that has been the site of three-”

Penelope winced away from the screen as she pressed a button, bringing a handful of photos up.

“...three strange and grisly murders.”

Lili flipped open her file, running a finger down the page and silently moving her lips as she read the page before her.

"Asher Duvall, Russell Cremir, and Kelly Ellison," Penelope continued. "Over the past month all three have been found dead in their homes."

"Is this right?" Lili spoke up, raising her eyes to find the whole table (sans Spencer, who was flipping quickly through the file) looking at her. 

"They were all killed with a single stab through the eye socket into the brain?"

"That is indeed correct, lovely newbie," Penelope replied, making a face. 

"The official COD is an orbital penetrating craniocerebral injury," Spencer added, studying the ME report. "That's a surprisingly difficult wound to inflict. Many knives would simply shatter on the skull if stabbed at an eye."

"So this isn't our UnSub's first time," Hotch said, looking around the room. "And his kills are accelerating. Wheels up in 30."

There was a flurry of activity as everyone stood, pushing back chairs and rustling paper as they gathered files together.

“Carter,” Hotch called to her. “Do you have a go bag?”

“Yes sir,” she replied, patting her bulky messenger bag. “I travel light.”

He nodded, and JJ tapped her arm.

“I’ll show you the way to the jet,” she said with a small smile. Lili tucked the file she was holding into her bag and nodded.

“Lead the way!”

—

The case turned out to be a ritualistic killing condoned by over half the townspeople.

“I was afraid we were going to get mobbed when we brought Cooper in,” JJ commented as they boarded the jet.

“Right?” Rossi agreed. “We’re lucky we managed to get him inside before too much of a crowd gathered.”

“That was all thanks to our rising star,” JJ turned to Lili with a smile. 

“If you hadn’t figured out that he was forging the blades himself, we never would have tracked him down as fast as we did.”

Lili shrugged off the praise, ducking her head to hide her smile.

“Turns out only so many anvils are delivered to a town of 320 people,” she replied, drawing a chuckle from the other two agents.

They settled into their seats, Lili facing the other two. Hotch staked his claim near the back of the jet, paperwork and files already spreading across the table before him, and Spencer curled into a chair on the other side of the aisle from the chatty trio, opening a book propped on his knees.

“Hey, that was good work out there today, kid,” Rossi said as the plane began to taxi away from the gate.

“Thank you, sir, I really appreciate that.”

JJ snorted a laugh and tried to cover it up with a cough. Rossi just gave her a sideways glance.

“Listen, we’re a team. You don’t have to do any of that ‘sir’ or ‘agent’ stuff with us, alright?”

His words were backed up by JJ’s nod.

“Yeah, you proved yourself in my eyes, and in Hotch’s too, I think,” she added.

Lili’s eyes slid over to the tall doctor folded into the chair opposite her. His eyebrows were drawn and his lips pressed together in a tight frown. He hadn’t turned a page since they sat down.

JJ followed her gaze, noticing her concerned expression.

“Don’t worry about Spence,” she reassured her. “He misses Morgan. We all do.”

Lili swallowed nervously.

“I have some big shoes to fill, don’t I?”

“You aren’t replacing him,” JJ replied. “Morgan was Morgan, and you are you. Spence is just...taking it extra hard.”

After the plane leveled off at cruising altitude, Lili slipped out of her seat. In one smooth motion she was settled in the chair opposite Spencer, who studiously kept his eyes fixed on his book, his frown deepening as she moved closer.

“H-hey,” she started, clearing her throat. No reply from the doctor, not even a blink of movement that acknowledged her existence. Lili’s shoulders slumped slightly, fingers intertwining where they rested together on the table.

“Hey, Doctor Reid, I feel like we maybe got off on the wrong foot,” she tried again. This time Spencer’s eyes flicked up to her face for a millisecond before returning to his book. She took it as the most encouragement she was going to get.

“Um, I just wanted to say, I really admire your work.”

That got his attention. Spencer’s honey-brown eyes met hers over the top of his book, which he held like a shield in front of him.

“My work?” he asked. It was the first time he had spoken directly to her since they met.

“Yeah,” Lili gave him a flash of a smile, that quickly died as she dropped her eyes to her hands, fiddling with her fingers. “I read some of your papers for extra credit in school. I learned a lot, and I liked your style, so I found the ones I hadn’t read yet and read them over break.”

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

“What did you think of the thesis for my paper on the Psychology of Death Investigation?”

“I agree with your notes on best practice, but I think in the field it may be ambitious to train every member of the investigating force in psychological autopsies. It would be more realistic to start by training one or two members from each regional force, and giving them the tools to teach others.”

Spencer lowered his book slightly, leaning an elbow on the table.

“Just because it’s hard or expensive to execute, do you think we should forgo the ideal measure that could save lives?”

Lili shook her head.

“Not at all, like I said, I agree with you. In practice, however, you have to contend with politicians who can’t see past the next election, and getting the funding for extensive retraining, and the safeguards in place to ensure the retraining is used, would be difficult. Proposing a more realistic plan would increase the likelihood of getting it accepted.”

Studying the young woman before him, Spencer slowly nodded, sitting back in the chair. His book lay forgotten on the table.

“So you read between the lines.”

Lili smiled, and this one didn’t fade right away.

“I did. The idealistic language that made your paper so popular in certain circles also spread it further than a more tempered approach would have, therefore allowing it to reach more people and increasing the likelihood of the right people seeing it and taking the ideas to heart.”

"Hey, braniacs," Rossi interrupted, leaning across the aisle. "You two down for some poker?"

Behind him, JJ was shuffling a deck of cards.

"I dunno, Rossi, are you down to lose?" Spencer replied, attempting a light-hearted tone. No one pointed out that it fell short.

"Come and take it," Rossi taunted in a friendly manner.

Spencer glanced over to Lili, who had her eyes fixed firmly on her hands, as if trying to give the more established team members privacy.

"Do you play?" He asked. She looked up, a glint in her eye.

"Now and then."

Spencer stood and moved to the other table, and Lili followed after a moment.

"Step right up, step right up," Rossi chanted as JJ dealt. "Five-card stud. High-low. You can buy one at the end, and low hole card wild."

By the time the plane landed there was a pile of pennies in front of Spencer and JJ, Rossi, and Lili were groaning in various stages of grief.

"So, each penny is worth five dollars, right?" The young doctor confirmed with a grin.

"Yup," JJ spoke through the hands over her face.

"There goes my fun budget for the week," Lili added, head on the table.

"That wasn't fun, that was a slaughter," Rossi said. 

Spencer just smiled and scooped the coins into a spare evidence bag with his sleeve pulled up over his hands.

"I accept cash, checks, and donuts," he said, brushing the last penny off the table and into the bag with a metallic clink.

Lili perked up. 

"Donuts? There's a great little place by me, you could come pick out which you want."

She caught herself and stopped quickly, biting down on her lower lip. 

"If you want, which you probably don't, it was a stupid idea-"

"I'd love to."

Spencer cut her off, and even JJ and Rossi raised their eyebrows at the confidence in his voice.

"Really?" Lili looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. Spencer nodded.

"I love donuts. Plus, I'm curious what you thought about my paper on the psychology of-"

"Alright, alright," Rossi held up his hands in surrender. "We're home. Let's drop our things off inside and leave the smart talk for another day."

Everyone began to stand and gather their things. Spencer stole a glance at Lili to catch her eye as she did the same to him, and they shared a small smile. 

"We'll have to be early to get the best donuts," Lili mentioned as they disembarked, striding across the tarmac to the SUVs waiting for them. 

"Just let me know when."

Digging in her bag, Lili produced a pad of paper and a pen. She stopped walking for a moment to write, causing Spencer to pause too. The others started loading into the SUVs ahead.

"Here," she said, ripping off the page and handing it to him. "The time and address of the shop."

Spencer scanned the paper.

"And your phone number."

Lili shifted a little, glancing away.

"In case plans change. I don't really like texting, hence the...you know." She gestured at the paper he held between two long fingers. 

Spencer gave her a small smile.

"I know the feeling."

Ahead of them, a car honked.

"Come on, you two," Rossi yelled out of the window. "I want to sleep in my own bed tonight!"

With a breathless chuckle, Lili began walking quickly towards the car. 

"He better not pay you in donuts," she joked as she slid into the back seat.

"I think the donuts offer is now closed," Spencer replied, and the two smiled at each other for a moment before turning to look out the windows as Rossi pulled away.


End file.
